More SMEs taking to e-commerce

27th January 2009

A growing number of British small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are integrating e-commerce into their operations.

This is according to a new survey by pfa Research for Actinic, which found that 35 per cent of SMEs now utilise e-commerce, compared with 11 per cent in 2006.

The poll also revealed that 22 per cent of respondents have firm plans in place to launch an e-commerce site in the future, while two-thirds of those with online retail sites state that they turn a profit on the internet.

Chris Barling, chief executive of Actinic, remarked: "The take up of e-commerce will be significant in 2009 as it is the only channel where profits and growth are still on the up."

Actinic released findings from another survey earlier this month that suggested SMEs with e-commerce sites experienced a 48 per cent rise in turnover on average during November and December of last year.